Best Laid Plans

We have all heard the cliche about intentions and best laid plans. I'm living proof. I think part of it is setting my goals too strictly. I have to reevaluate and that will be interesting. Goddess grant me the strength...

Time to Refocus

With crunch-time here and the semester almost over, trying to focus only a small amount of time on my classes is really not going to work for much longer. Instead, I am going to be choosing a different goal for this project. I am joining the Woman Activity Tracker through the US Dept of Health and Human Services. Starting on May 9th, I'll be exercising for at least 30 minutes a day with the same guidelines in place as 30 minutes of work. I will increase my activity to try to reach at least an hour or more of exercise a day. Wish me luck (once the semester is over).

Yesterday

In the rush up to the dance competition, I have not been as on top of grading, etc. as I wish I was. I did get in my half-hour per class yesterday, but today my work time focused on VUB. Tonight was the last class and once I get the paperwork finalized and the dance competition complete, then all of my extra-curriculars will be done for now (sigh of relief). At least VUB liked me enough to want to see me continue with the program since it is one I truly appreciate working with.

Too Busy...But the end is here

Today I decided to use my second "off day" to buy my new car. If I had known I would have downtime, I would have taken midterms to grade. Instead, I watch America's Funniest Videos while waiting and didn't get home until almost 9pm. Tomorrow I have time and this weekend I want to make up for my days off. I am still preparing for the showcase dance on Wednesday. So much to do and WAY too little time.

Day Two - Already Needing to Review

Ok, so I know that revising my goals on the second day is a bit of a cop-out, but I also know that if your goals are too "all or nothing" then you set yourself up for failure- especially at the beginning. I did not work on my classes more than 10 minutes to check email earlier today because I have spent the day dealing with needing to replace my car and with practice for the dance competition next week. When I set my goals, I did not remember that you need flexibility in the beginning and then can become more rigid as I build my habits. So here is the revision:

Goal #1a: Work for 30 min/day on each class at least 5 days a week, with an attempt to go for 7 days a week.

Reward #2(revised): I will set aside $5 a day for every day I work and if I set aside less than $25 in a week, I will be required to leave the money in savings. If there is $25-35 set aside, I am welcome to spend it as I wish.

Day One - Goal Reached

Who would have thought dark chocolate cocoa would taste so sweet. As it is, since it represents meeting my goal, I am enjoying sipping at the dark lusciousness and thinking that I can do this - 30 minutes really is more time that I think it is and I was able to get a good bit done. I'll be able to get caught up in no time with this goal in place (yeah me!). Time to transfer the $5 for today into my savings so it is available next Wednesday after I have met my goal for an entire week. More tomorrow!

What This Is About

Changes - major ones and minor ones - are a process. We all know this. That's why they suck and why so many of us, when we start them rarely follow through on them. Being a person who is usually controlled by logic, I even know the reasoning why habits are hard to break and why change is frightening and difficult to maintain. Too bad change is also a fact of life.

I look at my life and frequently lament the things I need to change. Like most people, I am pretty freakin' whiny about it. Unfortunately, I am also an intellectual, so while I'm complaining, there is a part of my mind that is also piping up with a note reminding me that I need to actually do something about the situation if I'm going to complain about it - otherwise, I'm just being a hypocrite. So I decided to come up with a plan.

As an undergrad, I took applied behavioral analysis. This is the new, more politically correct term for behavior modification since the latter term tends to conjure images of electrocuting rats and scaring children. The general principle is pretty simple - you can change or build behaviors by creating a series of steps to the overall behavior and either introducing a stimulus (good or bad) or removing a stimulus (good or bad) to encourage the behavior. Since I have a lot of things I want to change, I'm going to give this plan a try - with myself as the subject of an impromptu research project.

So here is the deal - I'm going to pick one of my bad habits I want to break and I'm going to see if I can set up a scenario where I reward myself for completing the goal I set. I'm going to start with small, easy to achieve rewards, then move to more difficult, but larger and more valuable rewards as I become more used to the situation. As I build a positive habit - once I feel it is well in hand, I will begin adding a second.

The first habit I need to change is my tendency toward procrastinating in my grading for work. I always tell myself I will get the work done and something always comes up (big or small) to keep that from happening.

GOAL #1 Spend a minimum of 30 min/day on each of the 6 classes I teach.

Reward #1: For each day that I accomplish this, I will have hot chocolate for a bedtime snack and I will put aside $5. I will NOT be allowed to make hot chocolate if I have not met my minimums for the day.

Reward #2: If I meet my goal each day for a week, I will have $35 to spend on whatever I choose. I will not be allowed to spend the money if there is not at least $35. Instead, I must put that money in my savings account and it is inaccessible for any spending.

I will keep this posted as to how I am doing on working toward my goal.